May 11, 2009

The mayor of Mississippi’s largest city died on May 7, less than two days after losing a primary re-election bid. He was 60.

Mayor Frank Melton died at a Jackson hospital with his wife by his side, city spokeswoman Goldia Revies told The Associated Press.

At an emergency meeting Wednesday, the City Council tapped its president, Leslie Burl McLemore, to be acting mayor.

Two days prior to his passing, unofficial results show that Mayor Melton came in third of nine candidates in his mayoral primary. The top two finishers — Harvey Johnson, the former mayor Melton unseated in 2005, and city Councilman Marshand Crisler — advanced to a May 19 runoff.

According to press reports, Melton had a serious heart condition that sent him to the hospital several times in recent years, including for bypass surgery.